Just an Illusion
by YuuriMaoh
Summary: The only way they could be told apart was by the minute difference in the colors of their eyes. . The smile on his brother's face was the most mischievous he had ever seen...SasuNaru, KisameItachiKyubi...
1. Running From Memories

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters, this is purely fanmade and I do not make any money from these writings.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC…

* * *

Note: This was originally going to be a one-shot in celebration of the uploading of chapter 10 of ANV...but, I went so overboard. Like always. This doesn't look like it's going to be a oneshot after all.

Note2: Dedicated to Marcus1233, DG a.k.a Demon Gurl, Shimaki-33, Promimo, and shadowphoenix143! I hope this serves as a distraction to busy and stressful days!

* * *

Chapter 1: Running From Memories

* * *

He found himself standing in a restricted area of the top of the Humanities building of his campus. Nothing but a sign could be seen on the balcony to ward students away when the workers were present to repair a cracked area of the roof. None of the workers were present at the time. Sasuke's eyes became half-lidded when several long gusts of wind pushed at him. The sun felt warm everywhere it touched his skin, it didn't sting harshly like it usually did. Feeling the wind blowing back the strands of his hair, brushing over his eyelashes, and feeling the sun on one of its kinder days did nothing to ease the voidness he felt in his chest...in the area above his heart. He clenched his jaw for a moment as his gaze fell from the horizon to the grass and the pavement below. He took another step forward. He wasn't the kind of person that would feel dizzy from looking down from such a high place. He didn't even lose his balance at the thought that it was such a distant drop. He spread his arms straight out, leaning his head back as more gusts of wind pushed at him, making his clothes cling to him and his collar and the cuffs of his shirt flap around him. His eyes closed as he tucked in his dry lips for a moment, running his tongue over them once before unrolling them again. He was thirsty, but for what, he couldn't quite figure out.

"What's it telling you?"

The voice was so soft that Sasuke was surprised he managed to hear it. The wind carried the voice to him and he frowned, thinking that he had fallen asleep and that it was a dream. He opened his eyes very slowly, his arms dropping to his side. Over there. He turned his body towards the owner of the voice and he felt his heart painfully stop for a few beats. In fact, his body seemed to have recognized the other person while his mind was trying to catch up...this one was one of his past classmates, no, one of his past friends? No, one of his...

The blonde was perched on a thick tree limb towards his right, several feet above him. Sasuke tensed when he finally fully recognized the boy. He hadn't traded words with him for three years, and yet with a few words, he had managed to pull Sasuke roughly back to reality. He expressed his displeasure to this person by sending him a glare. The glare wasn't searing or filled with loathing as it once was years before. The glare was light, but it was emptier than he realized. He had left the blonde in the past. He was hoping to have buried him there as well. Just what did he want from him?

"What did it tell you?" The blonde asked him softly before looking ahead of him again, his profile still visible to Sasuke. "The wind."

The other boy's body language gave no hint of what he was thinking. Sasuke ran his hands through his hair on either side, his fingers clutching at the back of his hair and tugging at the clumps almost painfully. He took a deep breath, his full attention on the blonde, and it was as if his world had harshly re-awakened. He felt tired mentally and physically, but as his eyes took in the sight of his unusually serene and tranquil old classmate, he felt a strange electric energy take the place of the empty void above his heart. An unquiet, nervous, and anxious energy that he wanted to get rid of at all costs.

"It mentioned in passing that I'm going to be late for class if I don't make a mad dash for it starting now," Sasuke replied, rushing towards the balcony and grabbing his abandoned backpack. He mentally slapped himself as the words fell from his mouth without the permission of his brain.

Sasuke really did make a mad dash. He fled from the other boy as if he had demons at his heels. He felt like a child. To be more precise, he felt like he did the last time he was in the presence of that blonde boy. The more stairs he rapidly descended in his rush to get to class and to get away from past memories, the more the memories seemed to hover after him. He had a feeling that if he stopped moving altogether, all of his memories would crash into him and he was afraid. He was afraid to look back. He shoved open one of the double doors at the bottom of the stairs and hastened his steps in the hopes that he wasn't being followed. When he reached the building of his next class, he looked over his shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief when he didn't see the blonde anywhere. He ran up another set of stairs, taking a sharp turn and walking down the hallway.

His heart leapt to his throat when he felt someone grab his elbow without warning, pulling him off to the side. When his shaky vision settled, he recognized the face of the person responsible for startling him.

"The hell, Itachi!" he barked, his heartbeat trying to slow back down to a normal pace.

"Take good notes today so I can copy them later," Itachi requested in a demanding way. "Why are you so jumpy today?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed in annoyance. He shared his next class with his older brother. The class was a requirement, but it was an easy one. Nonetheless, his brother wanted him to pay more attention than he usually did. "Where are you going?"

"To ride around aimlessly with some friends that are also cutting their last couple of classes," Itachi answered with a smirk. "We might stop by the beach or a park and hang around there for a while. And if we just happen to come across a party afterwards, we'll hang around there for a while..."

Sasuke sighed, knowing what Itachi was going to say after that. His mouth mimicked his brother's following words flawlessly.

"...and if we just happen to pass by a few clubs afterwards, we'll hang around there for a while."

"Fine," Sasuke gave in.

"Just remember I'd do the same for you if our positions were reversed," Itachi told him with a wink. "I have faith that one day you'll need to cash in some of these favors."

Sasuke glared at his brother. He doubted he ever would "cash in" those aforementioned favors, but it was the least of his worries. His gaze fell past his brother's shoulder and focused on an orange shirt. Shit. That...that blonde was still outhere. Pegging his brother with his most potent unarguable stare, he demanded in a raspy voice. "I take it back. Take me with you."

To say that Itachi was surprised would have been an understatement. His younger brother hadn't joined him in spontaneous festivities in years. He knew better than to question such a thing. At least, not at the moment. "Forget the notes then. Let's cut class together." He let loose a pleased smirk unto his face. Sasuke used to be somewhat less uptight. Maybe something like this was exactly what that boy needed.

"Let's go," Sasuke urged before taking hold of Itachi's wrist and maneuvering him quickly through the crowded hall and out through another exit. Any exit away from the blonde that he knew was following him.

Though Sasuke's voice betrayed nothing, Itachi felt the younger boy's shaking through the grip that he had on his wrist. He was more curious than ever to find out what had thoroughly rattled his little brother. In fact, he was even a tad worried. Sasuke hadn't lost his cool like this in years.

Sasuke's grip on Itachi's wrist loosened when they reached the parking lot. He had never been happier to see Itachi's usual group of friends gathered around his brother's car. The artists Deidara and Sasori...and Kisame.

"Don't tell me the outing's off," Kisame whined. He was pale, tall, with midnight blue eyes, and spiky blue hair in the shape of a rain drop. He was argued to be Itachi's best friend, but Sasuke knew that there was a love triangle somewhere down the line. That explained the absence of Kyubi.

"On the contrary," Itachi replied smugly. "Sasuke wants to come with us."

Sasuke was too busy looking over his shoulder for any sign of the blonde from before to pay any attention to the stares that were now focused on him. "Yeah, sometime today would be nice," he complained without even looking on them. Naturally, he was surprised when he was hauled into the back seat of the car. Not a moment later, Itachi had pulled out of his parking spot and made his way out of the parking lot. When they passed by the front of the campus, Sasuke paled and almost gave in to the urge duck his head when his eyes met disappointed blue ones. He wasn't too surprised that the blonde had nearly caught up with him after that trek through the campus. He felt a strange emotion tug at his heart when the blonde looked on as the distance between them grew larger and larger.

Itachi glanced at his brother through his rear view mirror. "So, am I ever going to find out what's been eating you today?"

Sasuke ran his hands through the sides of his head, his fingers curling and tugging at his hair. He would have rested his elbows on his knees, but his seatbelt didn't give way for that kind of movement. He took a deep breath and straightened back, dropping his arms back down to his sides. When he spoke, each word carried a weight...as if the words caused him a physical as well as an emotional pain. "I ran into Naruto."

* * *

Hanging out with Itachi and his friends weren't as distracting as Sasuke had first thought. His brother let him keep to himself whenever he wanted to and he was grateful for it. His brother knew about the history he had with the blonde and he also knew that he could do nothing to ease the flow of memories that were making his mind a wreck.

Sensing his brother's distress, Itachi's last stop of the day was at a club that they used to frequent since they were eighteen. Itachi and his friends passed on through since they were well-known regulars. The guys at the front were surprised to see Sasuke with them after so long. They offered him a nod as a greeting as they checked his ID. Sasuke remembered a time when he used to have to be stamped on the hand or needed a wristband to signal that he was underage. The best thing about being twenty-one and not having to drive was the fact that he could drink without fear. And he really needed a drink at the moment. When he reached the counter, he came across a familiar face. "Suigetsu?"

"Sasuke!" Suigetsu turned surprised eyes on his friend. "I'm surprised. It's been ages since you've shown your face around here."

Sasuke ordered himself a vodka tonic and sat on the stool next to Suigetsu. "I needed a distraction badly." He paid the bartender when the drink was placed before him. He chugged the drink down and winced, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Not to mention, I needed a drink." His black eyes scanned the dance floor, wondering how rusty his dancing was after such a long time of withdrawal.

"Like riding a bike," Suigetsu commented, as if reading the other's thoughts. "You'll be a little stiff at first, but I have no doubt in your dancing abilities." He added with a wink.

Sasuke nodded before he rolled up his sleeves to his elbows and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt. He made his way to the middle of the dance floor. The vibrations of the ground and the loudness of the speakers accompanied with the lights of the glowstick stirrers and a few drinks...it was all zoned out as the beat of the song course through him. By the time the raspy voice of the singer blazed through the speakers, Sasuke's body had already fallen into a rhythm. He closed his eyes, letting his legs move as they pleased. The further he abandoned his body to the music, his dancing became more fluid as well as complicated, more relaxed as well as seductive.

Before he knew it, the people around him gave him enough room to move around. Though they tried to focus on their own dancing and their partners, their eyes couldn't be helped but drawn to the dark-haired boy. Sasuke opened his eyes by a sliver and he unconsciously shivered as the gazes he felt on him became lustful. He knew that it was only a matter of time until some brave soul attempted to invade his dancing space. Luckily, he saw Suigetsu cutting through the crowd towards him to fend any hopefuls away.

Sasuke shut his eyes again, losing himself in the beat once more after realizing that Suigetsu had his back. He felt a body near him and, assuming Suigetsu had finally reached him, he continued to dance. He smiled as he felt the person behind him follow his movements almost perfectly. Not bad, Sui. When he felt a pair of hands fall on his hips and a weight on his shoulder, however, Sasuke's eyes flew open. His traitorous body continued moving once it realized who it was. Fuck. Once again, his body realized things before his mind could catch up with it. His breath hitched when the hands on his hips him pulled him closer.

"You must really enjoy running away from me," a voice whispered in Sasuke's ear. "You seem to enjoy running away from a lot of things."

Sasuke bit his lip as one of the hands slipped under his shirt and ran up the skin there. "I didn't run away," he hissed, even as he felt heat gathering to many places just from the other person's touch. "I left to follow my goals in life."

"I would have followed you to the ends of the world. The deities know I'm still trying," was the response. "How conveniently you forget and push away what really matters."

And, just like that, the person stepped back and let go of Sasuke. The dark haired boy turned around to look at the depths of the most emotive blue eyes he had ever seen. They were dark now, a mixture of desire, anger, and disappointment sifting back and forth through them along with something else that Sasuke couldn't quite decipher. The thumps and vibrations of the floor seemed to echo the erratic beating of his heart at the sight of those eyes. He hated feeling the hot paths of blood boiling in his veins. He simply hated it. Just like he hated the boy before him.

"Then maybe the deities should fill you in on the fact that it was a hopeless endeavor right from the get-go," Sasuke growled. He had thought he had seen the last of the blonde when he walked away from him somewhere in the park of their old neighborhood. He had gone his separate way since then...which was what he had planned to do from the beginning. How had this idiot missed the memo?

"You're wrong," Naruto countered. "You don't even know what you really want." In an instant, the blonde closed the distance between them. His hand circled around the other boy's waist and slid up the small of his back. He pulled him so close that he could feel the hardness of Sasuke's chest and the awakening erection on his leg. "Do you?"

Sasuke's eyes were locked on to Naruto's slitted ones. His body was dizzy with a desire that surprised him. What was wrong with him? He should be breaking away from the blonde. He should be kicking the idiot's face in. But, his body refused to go along with what his mind wanted. On the contrary, it was begging for Naruto's touch. Begging for the kiss that was sure to come.

As if on cue, Naruto moved his mouth towards Sasuke's. He stopped when he was about an inch away, however, allowing Sasuke the option of escape. He wasn't disappointed when Sasuke pressed his lips against his. Damn, had he missed this. The sensation was causing havoc from his stomach down, but the only thing he focused on was Sasuke's kiss.

Sasuke's head was screaming at him to stop. His body was too absorbed into the kiss to care. His tongue subconsciously sought entrance into the blonde's mouth and even his mind had to admit that it felt so good after such a withdrawal. When he explored the blonde's cavern and the other's tongue began to move against his as well, the electric energy around his heart gave a spasm and Sasuke felt a little weak in the knees. No. This was not happening, his mind chastised. This needed to stop...but, he found himself wrapping his arms around Naruto's neck as the other grinded against him slowly. And then, all hell broke lose in Sasuke's mind...or, rather, Sasuke's memories...

--  
TBC

So what do you think? T-T Should I continue this after ANV is done and/or inbetween? Or should I just leave it here as an odd one-shot? Please let me know!

-DD


	2. Twins Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC…

* * *

Chapter 2: Twins- Part 1

* * *

_--FIVE YEARS AGO_--

Naruto's mouth dropped open at their reflections in the mirror. The resemblance between them had always been obvious, but not like this. The only way they could be told apart was by the minute difference in the colors of their eyes. One set was as blue as the sea. The other set had a periwinkle undertone. The smile on his brother's face was the most mischievous he had ever seen. He finally closed his mouth when he felt an arm being thrown over his shoulder.

"Today will be an interesting day," Kyubi purred in his younger brother's ear.

"Remind me why I'm going along with this again," Naruto demanded.

"Because I'm paying for your ramen consumption for the next three months," Kyubi replied in a flat voice. His tone changed but an instant later. "Besides, it's what brothers do. Compromise."

"It's only the first week of classes," Naruto pressed on. "And already you can't get along with one of your teachers?"

"He's lazy, always late, and I hate his teaching methods," Kyubi declared effortlessly. His complaints were only half the truth, but he knew that his brother would only go along with the swap if he believed that Kyu was genuinely having a hard time.

"Fine," Naruto sighed. "Let's get this semester over with. You better not slack on your promise."

"Set in stone," Kyubi affirmed. "Set. In. Stone."

* * *

"Aww man," Kiba complained when the twins reached their bus stop. "And here I thought you guys were going to keep it easy for us this year. What happened?"

"Guess I missed my roots," Kyubi answered.

"Besides," Naruto added. "It's not like **you** can't figure us out, Kiba."

"Yeah, but I'm just about the only person who can," Kiba emphasized with a slight shake of his head. "I hope you were planning on telling me what you're up to."

"Later, Kiba," Kyubi told him with a smirk, their bus screeching to a stop before them. "Later."

"The first challenge will be trying to pull it off," Naruto whispered low enough for only Kiba to hear as they started up the steps.

* * *

When the twins un-boarded the bus and began walking away from the ramp, they swapped schedules.

"First period, I was assigned a seat in the front next to a guy that couldn't decide whether he wanted straight hair or a spiky do'," Kyubi explained. "So, he apparently tried to combine the two."

"Weird," Naruto commented. "With our last names, we're usually always assigned a seat in the back."

"Yeah," Kyubi agreed. "I told you this teach's annoying."

"In my class, I'm in the back as usual," Naruto told him. "Next to a guy with a long ponytail."

"Yeah, I know," Kyubi mumbled too low for Naruto to hear.

"You say something?"

"Naw," Kyubi denied, giving Naruto a light clap on the shoulder. "Thanks, bro."

"Oh, don't thank me yet," Naruto warned. A loud bell signaled the beginning of the first class of the day.

"Meet me at the end of class to swap schedules again," Kyubi reminded him as he walked off towards the right.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "This is going to be weird." Just when he was finally getting used to his schedule, now he had it scrambled all over again.

While he weaved through the crowds of students, Naruto kept an eye out for the room number. 122 Basic Survival Skills. Basic Survival Skills? He knew that it was a mandatory class, but he had no idea what to expect.

His eyes scanned the room and they fell on the back of a spiky, black-haired hairstyle at the front. First challenge of the day. "Here we go again," Naruto greeted. "Don't you just hate Mondays?" The dark-haired boy gave him a sideways glance and slowly shrugged. 'Quite the talker, this one,' Naruto thought sarcastically.

"Weekends sure make me forget a week's worth of studying," Naruto continued. "You wouldn't happen to have your syllabus on you, would ya? I seem to have lost mine."

The other boy gave him a look. The kind of look that a mother gives a child when they're getting ready to touch something they're not supposed to. Naruto didn't like it, but he let it go once he was handed the syllabus. "Thanks pal." He nearly laughed aloud. "How are 'making an omelet', 'sewing pillows', and 'learning how to make fondues' basic survival skills?"

"I thought I answered that question already, Uzumaki," Kakashi wondered as he walked through the door 10 minutes after all his students were already seated. "Amazing how two days made you forget that already."

"It happens," Naruto said with a shaky smile. He tried to ignore the look that the boy sitting next to him gave him.

Naruto had never met a teacher that would arrive later than his/her students and then leave before them. Kakashi wasn't as bad as his brother had made him seem. Naruto even grudgingly admitted that his actual lessons were interesting. He was about to leave the classroom, when he heard someone call for him.

"Uzumaki."

The black-haired guy with the odd hairstyle approached him. "Yeah?"

"You are not the same Uzumaki that was with us last week," it was a statement with not a hint of query in it.

Naruto looked around to make sure no one else was around. "If that were so...would you rat on me?"

A small smirk slowly appeared on the other boy's face. Seeing it made Naruto's stomach feel weird. "I won't rat on you. Though I **am** curious."

Naruto felt his posture relax. "My name's Naruto. The Uzumaki that was here last week was my twin brother, Kyubi." The other boy looked at him strangely. "I didn't catch your name earlier, sorry."

"Uchiha, Sasuke," he replied in the middle of heading out of the classroom. "If you're going to continue this interchanging of classes, I suggest you drag a lot more information out of your brother."

"Easier said than done," Naruto mumbled as he watched Sasuke walk away. He glanced up and down the hallway before taking a deep breath. "Well, challenge two, here I come."

Naruto walked with a little less enthusiasm towards his first period classroom. When he didn't see his brother waiting for him in the hall, he walked inside the classroom calling him. "Bro? You still here?" He heard a thump in the back of the classroom. He turned his head towards the noise and found his brother being reluctantly helped up from the floor by a pale boy with spiky blue hair. "What happened to **you**?"

"Tell you later," Kyubi said while rubbing his shoulder. "Naruto, Kisame and Itachi. Kisame and Itachi, this is my brother Naruto."

"Yeah, we've already covered that last week," was Itachi's greeting. He sent Kisame a look and the other boy nodded as a greeting towards Naruto.

"Alright," Naruto warned Kyubi. "We've got less than four minutes to go over our next couple of classes."

"Right," Kyubi agreed. "Don't worry about Homeroom, but during 2nd period..."

Naruto only paid half attention to what his brother was saying. His gaze fell on Itachi and Kisame and he frowned a bit. Now two more people were aware of their swap. He could only hope that all of them could be trusted.

----  
TBC


	3. Twins Part 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC┘

----------------

Chapter 2: Twins- Part 2

-----------------

"I still don't understand why you want us to swap ALL of our classes," Naruto sighed. "You can't possibly hate ALL your teachers."

"Well, it's for the fun of it!" Kyubi replied. "Come on, little bro, do you even remember the last time we fooled the teachers?"

"In other words, you're not telling me jack shit," Naruto mumbled. "Fine. I'll stop asking. But, you better not forget your part of the deal."

They were both sixteen. Naruto was in his junior year of high school, but Kyubi had jumped ahead a year. Naruto didn't grasp things as easily as his brother seemed to. He didn't know where Kyu's motivation came from. He managed to push himself to senior year and to take a few college courses while he was at it. As much as they were twins, they could sure be different when it came to certain things.

The brothers had different courses during most of the day, but there were some mandatory classes that held students of all four years during different periods of the day. One of the aforementioned classes was the one that Kyubi was so determined to swap with Naruto. Kyu had claimed that it was because he couldn't stand the teacher, Kakashi. Kyu would have much rather had Naruto's livelier teacher for first period instead. Seeing as how they had done similar things in the past and it worked out fine, Naruto had let his brother bribe him with ramen in return. But, that didn't make him any less curious to figure out the real reason for the swap.

After switching out their books at their lockers, the twins walked to their corresponding Homerooms. They had agreed that Homeroom was the only class period that they could attend normally. Naruto was dragging his feet while Kyubi looked and acted as if he had just won a golden ticket to see Willy Wonka's chocolate factory.

As Naruto stepped into his Homeroom class, Kyubi put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him aside. "Hey Naru," he whispered so that only his brother could hear. "Thanks."

Naruto watched as Kyubi walked away with a nervous smile on his face. He realized that this whole swapping business meant a lot more to Kyu than the other boy had let on. He wondered once again about what his intentions really were as he made his way to the first class of the day. The blonde greeted his friends as he walked to his desk, his thoughts still on Kyu's scheme. His worries were distracted away with the arrival of some of his closest friends. "Hey guys."

"Good morning!" an energetic, big eyed boy greeted. He had the largest black eyes Naruto had ever seen and a straight, insanely even haircut of the same color. His name was Lee, and he was one of the only people Naruto knew that piled on the extracurricular activities. How one person could perform so many duties on a daily basis was beyond him.

Naruto was given a nod by the redhead next to Lee. Gaara somehow ran on only a couple of hours a day of sleep. Whenever he slept over, he kept everyone awake until 3 AM. He had a bit of a violent side to him, but only when he didn't get his way. Naruto and Kyubi still considered Gaara to be a very good friend.

"Are you sure it's morning?" yawned a brunette with a ponytail. Shikamaru was the opposite of Gaara when it came to hours of sleep. Whenever he slept over, he'd be the first one to fall asleep as well as the last one to wake up.

"Yes, if the soft-boiled eggs, French toast, sausages, bacon, and orange juice I had this morning are anything to go by," a longer-haired brunette replied from behind Shikamaru. Chouji was one of the few people that could gain and lose weight on command. Sometimes his family would tell him to bulk up for these strange family competitions that they held every year. Naruto kept telling him that he'd make a great actor or stunt double.

"At-choo!" The boys turned to see Kiba walk in the classroom along with a tall boy with transition glasses. "I'm telling you, Shino, I must be allergic to you or something."

Shino simply folded his arms and tilted his head, not amused by Kiba's joke at all. "You're catching a cold."

"No, damn it!" Kiba whined. "I was feeling just fine until the end of first period!" He sat at his desk, which was right next to Naruto's, and face suddenly lit up. "That's right! You still have to tell me what's going on!"

"Not now, Kiba," Naruto hissed. "Later. I promise that by the end of the day, you'll know."

As soon as Shino took his seat, the bell rang and the teacher began calling out names. Naruto always wondered why Homeroom was held after first period. The 15 minute long class should have been held before first period even began.

However, that gave him a few minutes to look over the notes he wrote down about the rest of Kyubi's classes. In second and third period, he was seated at the back. And in fourth period, he was seated next to Uchiha, Sasuke again. He wasn't looking forward to that encounter at all.

* * *

Kyubi was in both heaven and hell. He realized that this had to be the punishment of the Universe for not telling his brother the whole truth. Yes, the teacher Kakashi annoyed him, but that wasn't the full reason as to why he wanted Naruto's schedule so badly. The rest of his reason was sitting right in front of him.

"Will you please stop that?" Kisame growled, turning around so that he faced Kyubi. "I feel like you're burning a whole through the back of my head." He looked around to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. "Listen, I don't know what you or your brother are after, but I refuse to be used as a means to get to Itachi. I know that you're not the only one that's been wanting to chase after him, but he's still my best friends and some lines shouldn't be crossed."

"But-," Kyubi paled a bit, wanting to clear up the misunderstanding, when the bell rang. Yes, this was definitely some sort of punishment. He watched helplessly as Kisame stormed out of the classroom. Kyubi's last phrase was barely a whisper. "But, the one I like is _you_."

Just as soon as despair overwhelmed him, and anger replaced it. "Damn it!" He slammed a fist sideways unto his desk. He refused to let his plan fall apart so soon. Oh, he was going to get Kisame to notice him, even if he had to cross those lines to do it.

* * *

Algebra two!? If there was ever a moment that Naruto wanted to die, it was then. Naruto was never good at math. He was so demanding a bigger compensation for this. "Why math?" he asked in a broken voice.

"No good at math?" Sasuke assumed. He was careful to keep his face blank even though he almost felt like laughing on the inside at the open expressions on Naruto's face. He couldn't help it! They were so cu-no, he wasn't going to go that far. But, Naruto could certainly be amusing without even trying.

"Let me put it this way," Naruto explained. "My brother had to bribe me with several different flavors of ramen in order for me to even memorize my times tables."

"Very creative."

"You don't understand," Naruto continued his hands and fingers curled up in his hair. "I just barely finished memorizing them freshman year."

Sasuke's mouth froze in the shape of an 'O'. "I don't...normally do this, but if you find yourself overwhelmed...I could show you easier ways to solve the math problems."

One of Naruto's hands fell from the top of his head in surprise. "You'd really help me?"

"I'm not making any promises," Sasuke said quickly, trying to hide a blush of embarrassment. "I'm not saying that I'll get you an 'A', but I CAN help-" the last words of Sasuke's sentence froze in his throat at the sight of Naruto's sincere, beautiful smile.

"Thanks Uchiha."

"D-don't thank me yet," Sasuke managed to get out as the class began.

The hour and an half of Algebra two felt like ten years to Naruto, but he managed to survive long enough to set up tutoring sessions with the Uchiha. The two of them wrote and scratched out appropriate times from Monday through Friday. "Yeah, I can come to your house Mondays and Wednesdays and you can come to my house the other three days."

"Agreed," Sasuke decided. He didn't realize that his everyday schedule was that busy until he had to try figure out how much time he had off every day.

"I owe you one," Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he folded his copy of their tutoring schedule and tucked it into his binder.

The two boys walked down the hallway together, both wanting to meet up with their brothers. As they approached their brothers' classroom, a very disturbing sight greeted them. Kyubi had backed Itachi up against the wall behind the lockers and was kissing him senseless.

Naruto felt blood drain from his face and he could have sworn that his hair went white at the sight. He had never seen his brother kiss anyone, let alone someone he thought he barely knew. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but words refused to come out.

Sasuke, however, was able to recover a little faster. "Brother?"

For a moment, it seemed that Itachi couldn't hear him. But, he slowly pulled away from Kyubi and reluctantly turned his gaze to his younger brother. "Sasuke." He greeted as though he were doing nothing wrong.

"Naruto?" Kyubi walked over to his twin, worried about the other's expression and posture. "Hey, snap out of it!" He looked over his shoulder at Itachi. "We'll discuss this later; right now my brother and I have to get to our bus before it leaves without us."

"I could give you both a ride home," Itachi offered.

Kyubi shook his head. "We're fine."

Two sets of two brothers walked towards two different exits of the same hallway. Each one of them more than a little confused. Each one of them felt more awkward than they ever had before in their lives.

----  
TBC

----


	4. Twins Part 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC

----------------

Chapter 4: Twins- Part 3

-----------------

Naruto was still a little pale on the ride back home. He still hadn't fully recovered from the scene he witnessed earlier.

Somehow he understood that:

1. He caught his brother kissing someone up against a wall. It was like seeing his reflection making out with somebody he rarely knew. Disturbing much?

2. That person just happened to be Sasuke Uchiha's brother. He felt a little stupid not to have realized they were related before all of this.

3. He really HADN'T imagined the feeling that his brother wanted to swap schedules for another reason that he was hiding.

As they got on the bus, their friend Kiba noticed neither Naruto's nor Kyubi's unusual silence. "So, are you guys giving me the lowdown or what?" he asked innocently.

"Not NOW Kiba," the twins carped after they sat down. They looked at each other as soon as the words flew out of their mouths as if they each had forgotten that the other was there.

The scattered chatter on the bus continued around them, but the twins remained silent until the bus screeched to a stop and they both unboarded.

Kiba worried about his two friends, but he knew better than to fan the flames. They would eventually tell him what was going on when they felt that they could.

Naruto waited for Kyubi to unlock the door of their house before he sluggishly followed him inside. Their parents left earlier than they did for work and arrived in the evening with similar shifts. The twins only saw them for about four hours every weekday. Naruto had inherited their father's determination while Kyubi inherited their mother's deviousness.

Kyubi dropped his backpack, a loud 'thunk' proving that their textbooks were murderous. He turned around with his hands in his pockets, kicking at the air just like he always did when he knew that he had done something wrong and was already regretting it. "I...I got angry at my crush, so I decided to mess with his head and kiss his best friend."

Naruto took a deep breath as he let the Kyubi-logic sink into his head. "Kyu," he began slowly. "I don't know what exactly you were going for, but kissing your crush's best friend won't put you on his good graces any time soon." He let everything click together in his head for a moment. "You have a crush on raindrop-I mean, Kisame?"

"I was going to tell you _eventually_," Kyubi whined guiltily.

"You know what," Naruto rambled. "That doesn't even matter. It's just my luck that you would go and kiss that Itachi just when his brother agreed to tutor me in math."

"Run that by me again?" Kyubi's eyes widened incredulously.

"You heard me," Naruto confirmed. "Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm going to the Uchiha's. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and _Fridays_...Sasuke's coming here. No doubt getting dropped off by his brother."

"FUCK."

"Exactly," Naruto ended with a twisted smile. "That means, like it or not, _you're_ going to be seeing a lot more of that Itachi than you thought."

"Naruto, damn it," Kyubi paced with his hands pulling his hair back. "It's just MY luck that you would go and unintentionally ruin my plans like this! What am I going to do? Now Kisame's _really_ gonna hate me."

"Should have thought of that before you shoved your tongue down Itachi's throat."

"I did NOT," Kyubi cried indignantly. "No tongues involved, thank you."

"You keep thinking about that," Naruto said while writing out a quick note for their parents in case Kyubi forgot to tell him where he was in his unstable state. "I, on the other hand, am going to the Uchiha's. Later."

Naruto took out any textbooks he didn't need from his backpack, grabbed a bus route pamphlet, and stepped out of the house leaving the sounds of his brother's whining behind him. He walked down the sidewalk and around their community to get to the bench where the public bus would pick him up. He knew the bus routes by heart, but he brought the pamphlet in case the studying took longer than expected. He unzipped a corner of his backpack and slipped the pamphlet inside, take out a folded notebook paper in its stead. Naruto read over Sasuke's address a few more times before the bus showed up.

* * *

"I'm telling you that I cannot guarantee that the other twin will show up along with Naruto," Sasuke explained to Itachi. "You're going to have to figure out how to see that other twin on your own."

"Kyubi," Itachi corrected. "His name is Kyubi. And I have a feeling that Naruto is the key to Kyubi, so make sure he doesn't leave before talking to me first."

"Fine. Whatever. Now stop hovering," Sasuke warned. The sound of his cellphone vibrating on the counter alerted him to Naruto's call. "Hello? Hold on, I'm going out front right now." He walked out the front door and down the steps to the front of his house. With a look around, he finally spotted the top of a blonde head around the corner across the street. "There you are. Look to your left." Sasuke put his left arm in the air to get Naruto's attention and the other teen finally made his way over to him. "If you followed the map I sketched you, it should have been more than easy to find the house."

"What?" Naruto countered. "That map was so crudely drawn that I couldn't find the house even with a magnifier."

"Heh," Sasuke smirked, walking with Naruto back into the house. "Let's just hope that you're a little better with math than you are with directions."

"You jerk," Naruto answered after his mouth went slack at Sasuke's comment. "Fine. Let's see if you're better at tutoring than you are at drawing."

Sasuke smirk never wavered. "By the end of the semester, I'll have you eating your words. But enough arguing. Let's get to work."

That being said, the two teenagers focused all their attention on getting Naruto to understand his homework and other Algebra basics. They migrated to Sasuke's room and by the time they were done, it was almost five o' clock.

"This is so much easier when you explain it," Naruto wondered aloud. "I just hope I can remember half of what we went over."

"You'll be fine," Sasuke encouraged. "Just keep at it and I'll be here for the more difficult problems."

"Thanks," Naruto grinned, the action causing havoc somewhere in Sasuke's mind.

"I hate to bring this up," Sasuke changed the subject. "But, my brother wants to talk to you about YOUR brother before you leave."

"I don't have much time if I want to catch the bus," Naruto pointed out.

"Then, I'll drive you home," Itachi said from the doorway. Both Naruto and Sasuke nearly had heart attacks. How long had he been standing there?

"No," Sasuke argued. "Why don't you both talk in the living room. _I'll_ drive Naruto home. I am his tutor, after all."

"Fine," Itachi conceded. "Come with me."

Naruto thanked Sasuke inwardly for offering to ride him home, half jealous of the fact that the other teen already had a driver's license. He followed Itachi slowly as if at any time he could step on a land mine. Naruto didn't quite realize how awkward it would be to study with one Uchiha when _this_ Uchiha was kissed by his brother. Damn. What was he going to ask him about? Naruto didn't like to lie. In fact, he rarely did if at all. But, his instincts would always be to back his brother up first no matter what. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Your brother," Itachi began. "He kissed me so suddenly and unexpectedly that I have to either assume that he likes me or was pulling some kind of stunt. Which is it?"

"W-well, the only person who can tell you that is Kyubi himself," Naruto answered. "I'm sorry, but I don't really know what he was thinking." Which was true, in a way.

Itachi gave Naruto a strange, calculating glance. "Fine. I'll take this up with Kyubi himself, then."

Before Naruto gave in to letting out a sigh of relief in front of the older Uchiha, he decided that he had stayed there long enough. "I should get home."

He all but ran back to Sasuke's room to gather his things. Sasuke gave him a strange look, but began to dig out his wallet and keys from his backpack. "Let's get you home."

Ironic that he had left home in a rush to avoid having to deal with his brother. Now, he wanted to leave Sasuke's home to avoid dealing with HIS brother. Man, what a beginning to a new school year.

----

TBC

----


	5. Kyubi's Decision

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC, drama, angst...

----------------

Chapter 5: Kyubi's Decision

----------------

**_Important note_: Double D can't count. Ha ha. In the beggining of the "flashback" chapters, I had written that it was "three years ago"...that is WRONG, I meant to type "FIVE years ago" (which I have now fixed). Also, I wanted to mention that there will be some drama and angst in later chapters! Hopefully it won't be too bad?

He had told him that he didn't want Kyubi to use him to get to Itachi. Kyubi wanted to prove to him that if he really _wanted_ Itachi, then he didn't need a third person to accomplish it. Didn't stop to think it through, acting on impulse. 'Forget it,' Kyubi thought to himself. 'I'll just make him hate me to the point that he can't hate me any more and then he'll just have to grow to like me instead.'

"I'm going to start dating Itachi."

Three faces with wide, blinking eyes stared at Kyubi. The twins were seated at the dining room table eating dinner with their parents. After Sasuke drove Naruto home, the raven haired boy insisted on waiting for their parents to arrive in order to tell them about their study plans in person. Minato and Kushina took to the Uchiha instantly. It annoyed the hell out of Naruto

"What?" Naruto asked after nearly shocking on a mouthful of food.

"And who is this Itachi?" Minato wondered aloud.

"He's Sasuke's brother," Naruto reluctantly answered, tearing his shocked gaze away from his brother.

Minato and Kushina stared at each other for a moment, an eerie silence falling over the table. "Well if Itachi is anything like Sasuke, then I don't see a problem," their mother decided.

"Agreed," their father added.

Naruto looked at his parents as if they had said 'we're painting ourselves neon green and streaking around downtown'. He lost his appetite. "I'm taking a shower and getting ready for bed." He didn't even look at Kyubi as he took his plate and cup to the dish washer. His body went on automatic, gathering his pajamas from his room and his towel. However, his mind was shooting off in many directions.

Naruto loved his brother. He knew better than anyone else the good sides and bad sides of his twin and he fully accepted him with flaws and all. That didn't mean that he always agreed with his way of thinking, though. As smart as Kyubi was academic-wise, Naruto just couldn't comprehend how _thoughtless_ Kyubi was when it came to certain people. Especially the people he liked. If Kyubi didn't find someone to be remotely interesting, he wouldn't talk to them at all let alone be in their presence.

After his shower, Naruto brushed his teeth, dried himself well, and pulled on his pajamas. He had anticipated seeing his brother sitting on his bed waiting for him and he wasn't disappointed.

"I wasn't thinking at all," Kyubi began, elaborating on the events of the day. "Kisame hurt me. The part of me that wanted to hurt him in return overpowered my senses."

Naruto hung his towel on a chair and sat down next to Kyubi, not wanting to interrupt.

"I realized that the reason he didn't see me at all was because all he saw was Itachi," Kyubi continued. "So, I wanted to prove that Itachi wasn't interested in him that way." His periwinkle eyes narrowed as he remembered the pain of his rejection. "I just lost it. And a part of me is still losing it. I want to date Itachi for all the wrong reasons. I want to see what Kisame sees in him...I want to see why he can't see anyone else." He let out a shaky laugh. "So tell me, do you hate your twisted brother now?"

Naruto pulled his twin into a bone-crushing hug. "I'd never hate you," he told him truthfully. Because Naruto could never bring himself to judge him like that. Because they had both gone through worse pain and hardships before. And because, as his brother and best friend, all he could do right now was to lend him his support and hope with all his heart that things wouldn't turn out too badly.

*****

_**ONE YEAR LATER**_

*****

"They're going this Thursday," Sasuke let Naruto know in hushed tones. They were in their last class of the day, Algebra II. Naruto and Sasuke had become good friends the whole of the year before. They got along remarkably well despite the fact that they loved to argue amongst themselves. Kiba claimed that Sasuke was Kyubi's replacement for Naruto, since Kyubi spent most of his time with Itachi and his friends. But, that wasn't true. Sasuke still helped Naruto with his studies and Naruto helped Sasuke just by being his entertainment and distraction.

"Are we going to this one?" Sasuke was referring to one of Itachi's outings. Naruto and Sasuke sometimes hung out with Itachi and his friends and sometimes they didn't. Itachi, Kyubi, Kisame, and a couple of other friends of Itachi's had all graduated the summer before and frequented everything from parties to clubs whenever they needed to relieve their university stress. Thanks to such outings, the whole lot of them became such damn good dancers that they drew attention to themselves without even trying.

"We don't have anything important to turn in on Friday," Sasuke thought aloud. "Yes, we can afford to go with them Thursday."

Kiba also claimed that Sasuke and Naruto had been denying the fact that they've been dating for almost a year. No matter how many times Naruto explained that Sasuke and Naruto's relationship wasn't like that, Kiba would shake his head and that they were 'knee deep in the river of De-Nial'. His parents, however, were thrilled whenever the twins went out to have fun.

The truth was that neither Naruto nor Sasuke wanted to ruin the friendship they had. Sure, there were times when Naruto felt that there was something more between them than they realized, but he'd always waved those feelings away.

"Is Kisame going?" Naruto asked warily.

Sasuke winced. Whenever Kisame went with them, he almost always started an argument with Kyubi that would result into a physical fight. "Yes, last I heard, he's coming too."

Naruto bit his lip and stared down at his desk. He almost didn't want to know the reasons why Kyubi would rile Kisame up, but he did. His brother was still hung up on the raindrop-headed shark and Naruto had a feeling that Itachi was starting to realize it as well. Thursday was going to be hell.

* * *

Kyubi was torn. Never in his life had he been so frustrated and confused. It was mostly because of his confusion that he was taking it all out on Kisame. The truth was that, not only did he still have feelings for Kisame, but now he was also falling in lust with Itachi Uchiha. In lust? Yes, that could be the only explanation for the way his body was reacting to the barest of Itachi's touches. A whole year. He had been going out with Itachi for a whole year in the hopes of getting Kisame to forget about the Uchiha. But, instead, everything had become a complete mess.

Kyubi shook his head viciously, his red hair tickling him with the movement. He had dyed his hair red again as soon as he didn't need to swap places with Naruto again. He had also let it grow during the year. It was in ragged layers down to the back of his neck. The color of his hair made his periwinkle blue eyes look violet. One had to look closely to realize that Naruto and he were twins.

His skin shivered when he felt a hand slide away the back of his hair to place a kiss on the back of his neck. Kyubi bit his lip, both to keep from making a noise and to also fight down the feeling that arose in him whenever Itachi touched him.

"Let's dance?" Itachi asked Kyubi in a confident tone.

A part of Kyubi wanted to tell him no. That he was afraid. But, his elbow was already being tugged to the dance floor. Though his entire body was occupied with their dancing, Kyubi couldn't help but let his gaze wander to Kisame. A sexy, but sharp voice whispered into his ear at that moment.

"You and I need to talk," Itachi nearly hissed. "We need to talk about why you're so fixated on Kisame when you're in MY arms."

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto always danced far enough away not to touch, but close enough not to let anyone cut in. He felt more than heard a commotion from somewhere behind him. He neither knew nor care about what happened. But, someone shoved the people behind him roughly and right unto Sasuke, who stumbled and fell flush against Naruto in the middle of the dance floor.

Naruto steadied Sasuke, but where his mind wanted him to pull away, his body refused to obey. His arm kept Sasuke close as he leaned down to kiss Sasuke's slightly parted lips. The blonde's mind shut down as his heart took over. The feel of Sasuke's lips against his own was enough to drive him crazy. He was surprised when Sasuke not only responded to the kiss by licking and sucking at his bottom lip, but also wrapped his arms around his neck. Unable to control his body, Naruto nearly humped the other boy.

Sasuke took control of the kiss after that, tilting Naruto's head to where he wanted it. His tongue dove into the blonde's mouth without the permission of his brain and proceeded to draw a moan from Naruto. It wasn't until his lungs felt like they were burning that he forced himself to un-attach himself from the other boy.

"Do that again?" Naruto requested after they finally caught their breaths.

Sasuke laughed in reply, whatever nervousness that was between them dissipating, and tucked some of his hair behind his ear. "Dobe."

-----  
TBC

-----


	6. Hurt and Hurt Alike

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Title: Just an Illusion

Author: Dragon Dung (yuurimaoh)

Pairings: Naruto x Sasuke x Naruto

Warning: Alternate Universe, yaoi, general OOC, drama, angst...

----------------

Chapter 6: Hurt and Hurt Alike

* * *

**PRESENT TIME***

* * *

As Sasuke's memories trampled over him, he nearly bit Naruto's tongue. The moment he regained enough control of his mind and body to stop, he carefully tucked his tongue back into his own mouth and took a step back. His memories still fighting to fill up his mind, he opened his eyes and looked up at Naruto. Naruto's eyes looked like dark sapphires that haven't been polished in decades. It took Sasuke a while to realize that Naruto was waiting for him to say something. Sasuke fought to remember what the blonde asked him to begin with. 'You don't even know what you really want, do you?'

Sasuke scowled. The answer to that question was 'yes.' He knew what he wanted, but he didn't want the complications that came with it. He wanted his father to be proud of him, but he didn't want to follow the career that his parents demanded of him. He wanted to keep Naruto out of Itachi's sight, but he didn't want to move from his spot. He wanted to kiss Naruto again, but he didn't want to be flooded with more memories.

"There are too many consequences that come with what I want," Sasuke finally answered.

"Everything alright, Sasuke?" Itachi asked as he approached. The long-haired Uchiha sent Naruto a wary glance, but he focused his gaze on his brother thereafter.

'Nothing's alright,' Sasuke thought to himself. Aloud, he said. "I'm taking a taxi home." He moved past Naruto and Itachi and found that he was blocked half-way to the entrance by Suigetsu dancing with- Sasuke did a double take at the sight of familiar ginger hair.

"Leaving so soon?" Kyubi asked as he stopped dancing to step aside for Sasuke.

Sasuke pushed past them without saying a word. He should have known that where one twin was, the other wasn't too far away. The world of the Uchiha brothers had been skewered and tilted off-balance ever since they met the Uzumaki twins. But, whereas Itachi was trying desperately to embrace it, Sasuke just couldn't come to terms with it.

Itachi watched his younger brother walk away. He looked at Naruto. The blonde's gaze was still in the direction of his brother's departure. "Listen..."

"It was never your fault," Naruto sighed.

"But, neither was it yours," Itachi countered.

The two of them looked each other in the eye and, for a moment, both sets of eyes held pain in them.

"We should be heading back now."

Itachi and Naruto turned to the owner of the voice. Kyubi had reached them. Itachi instantly looked the other way.

"Yeah, I guess," Naruto sighed.

Kyubi handed Naruto the car keys. "I'll meet up with you in just a few minutes." After Naruto walked away, Kyubi focused on Itachi. "Hey."

Itachi gave himself a moment to collect himself. Things were always awkward between Kyubi and himself. He loved Kyubi. He hated Kyubi. He couldn't allow himself to fully love Kyubi. And he couldn't get himself to truly hate Kyubi. They had both said terrible things to one another in the past. Several months ago, however, they were trying to move past all that. Unfortunately, that meant that they would have to tolerate each other until they figured out a way to get along without blood being spilt.

Kyubi stepped closer to Itachi when the other finally turned his eyes to him. "How's everyone doing?"

Of course, there was also the damn attraction that their bodies reacted to whenever they were within a few feet of each other. Itachi swallowed discreetly before answering. "They're fine."

That's how it started, actually. Kyubi slowly stopped mentioning or asking about Kisame by name. These days, however, the only person's wellbeing he cared about was Itachi's. The red-head raised his elbows, pulling his hands behind his head casually. "Good. What are you doing this Tuesday?"

"Nothing after four," Itachi replied.

"Library?"

"No."

"Ruby Tuesdays?"

"Not at that hour."

"Movie then."

Itachi hesitated before answering. "Fine."

"Great," Kyubi told him with a grin. "See you then."

Itachi covered his face with a hand, knowing that he just made another mistake. He wondered briefly what the chances were for a moon-sized boulder to fall from the sky and squash him dead.

* * *

Around eight at night on Tuesday, Sasuke found himself piecing together an essay with such little enthusiasm that the pages could have turned into ash as he printed them. Loud banging noises from the kitchen not only distracted him, but began to give him a pounding headache. An obnoxious voice, however, drifted to his ears and Sasuke snapped. He stormed into the kitchen. His target was seated on the kitchen counter next to his brother and stuffing his face. Sasuke didn't pay much attention to what the redhead was eating, he was too busy glaring at him.

"What is HE doing here?" he hissed to Itachi.

"By the time we arrived at the movie theater, we barely made it in time to find seats before the movie began and didn't have enough time to buy anything to eat," Itachi explained. "And since he paid for the tickets, I figured I should pay for dinner."

"But, why is he HERE?"

"The food would have gotten cold by the time I got home with it," Kyubi answered this time with a smirk.

Sasuke looked to Itachi, to Kyubi, and back again, feeling overwhelmingly like a child. "You know what, just...whatever! Just keep the noise level down while I finish up my essay."

But, Sasuke's focus was long gone. He was too busy fuming to concentrate. He just couldn't understand why his brother would bring HIM here. He couldn't understand why his brother was hanging out with him, let alone SPEAKING to him. In a fit of temper, Sasuke grabbed the pillow nearest to him and threw it at the wall. Why was his brother setting himself up for more hurt? Was he such a masochist?

Deciding that desperate times called for desperate measures, Sasuke decided to do his brotherly duty and kick Kyubi out within the next five minutes. When he marched back into the kitchen, however, his brother was gone. "Where's Itachi?"

"He left something at the food stand and told me to leave at my leisure."

"Why don't you leave now?" Sasuke prompted.

"Because I figured that now would be a good time as any to ask you why you enjoy hurting Naruto," Kyubi asked him in a serious tone.

"I don't," Sasuke began. "Why should I...You know, that's just none of your business!"

"On the contrary," Kyubi growled, standing up abruptly and cornering Sasuke. "It IS."

Sasuke felt a jolt of panic as he backed up against the refrigerator. He felt more than heard several of the magnets fall behind him. Kyubi had advanced and trapped him there. This wasn't happening! Why was this happening? What WAS happening? Sasuke had but a second to draw in his breath before Kyubi's lips descended onto his. He was in so much shock that Kyubi's tongue slipped past his lips to taste his. For a moment, Sasuke felt like he was going to faint. That was, until he realized that the flavor on Kyubi's tongue tasted familiar. Ramen. In fact, it was a certain blonde's favorite type of ramen. A smirk formed on Sasuke's lips. He was going to kill the dobe. But, in the meantime, he was going to thoroughly enjoy this.

Naruto gasped when he felt one of Sasuke's hands slide around his torso to grab one of his butt cheeks. Sasuke wasted no time in forcing Naruto's tongue to retreat and taking control of the kiss. When Sasuke's other hand reached up to grab the back of his hair almost painfully, Naruto knew that he was in trouble.

* * *

TBC


End file.
